This seems akin to Facebook’s new “frictionless sharing” feature, which is clearly designed more for the benefit of data-sellers (Facebook itself) and data-users (market researchers/advertisers/media makers) than individual Facebookers.

More and more, you’ll be “sharing” content on your Facebook profile that you’ve simply watched, read, or listened to elsewhere online. And if you think these data-hounds will stop at tracking your media consumption, think again. Facebook has already added an “actions” category that will eventually allow auto-sharing of things you’ve purchased, places you’ve visited, sights you’ve seen, et cetera.

There are already big changes taking place due to this redefinition of “sharing” in social media. For instance, before Facebook could legally introduce the feature, it lobbied Congress to curtail consumer protections in the 1998 Video Privacy Protection Act, which used to firmly prohibit companies from publicizing customer video renting/watching habits.

Moreover, “frictionless sharing” is little more than a resurrection of Facebook’s legally dubious “Beacon” feature, which it tried to introduce and was immediately sued for just a few years back. See my blog post at The Daily Taylor for more about frictionless sharing and what it means for average users, as well as media marketers.